1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus and method for operating to avoid inter-channel interference with another communication apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A Bluetooth apparatus is subjected to operate in 2.4 gigahertz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands. Thus, when an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11-based wireless local area network (WLAN) apparatus operates at 2.4 gigahertz (GHz), mutual interference between the Bluetooth apparatus and the WLAN apparatus may occur.
Available channels of the IEEE 802.11 standard may be defined in a 2.4 GHz band. Each of the available channels may have a width of 20 megahertz (MHz) and partially overlap.
In a Bluetooth standard, 79 channels for communication in the 2.4 GHz band may be defined. A range of frequency used for the channels may be from 2.402 GHz to 2.480 GHz, and each of the channels may be separated based on a 1 MHz unit.
A signal transmitted by the Bluetooth apparatus may be spread to the 2.4 GHz band and perform frequency hopping, for example, 1600 times per second to avoid interference with another wireless communication apparatus.
A bandwidth of a single channel of the IEEE 802.11 standard may correspond to bandwidths of 20 Bluetooth channels. Thus, a frequency channel of the frequency hopping, which is used for a communication by the Bluetooth apparatus, may be subject to interference by a communication of the WLAN apparatus using a channel including a corresponding Bluetooth channel. For example, when the Bluetooth apparatus performs the frequency hopping 1600 times per second, each Bluetooth channel may be used approximately 20 times (1600/79=20.253) per second on average because 79 Bluetooth channels are present.
Accordingly, to minimize interference in a case in which both the Bluetooth apparatus and the WLAN apparatus are present, channel use information may be exchanged between the Bluetooth apparatus and the WLAN apparatus, and a channel use between the Bluetooth apparatus and the WLAN apparatus may be adjusted to avoid interference.